Courtney Barnett – review

Following Lorde's majestic 2013, pop is primed for another Antipodean heroine. But heir apparent Courtney Barnett has her feet firmly on the ground. "I'm pretty happy there are so many people here to see us," she says, with genuine surprise. "It's our first time playing in England as a band."

A collection of her first two releases, The Double EP: A Sea Of Split Peas, has yanked the Tasmanian-born singer-songwriter into the British spotlight and from her make-up-free face to the favourite, oversized shirt she apologises for wearing, Barnett is a revelation. Her music is intoxicating, blending country, garage and grunge-indebted rhythms with frank, focused lyrics that turn the mundane profound.

With her eyes closed and lips pressed close to her mic, Barnett loses herself in songs about masturbation and panic attacks. Her resigned vocal style, part Sheryl Crow, part Stephen Malkmus and wholly slacker, is a perfect match for the impressive melodies.

What's unexpected is Barnett's captivating presence. She's more Kurt Cobain than traditional pop princess, shaking her shaggy mane, swinging her lead guitar and bobbing back and forth with her head hung low, but within the intensity there's an appealing ingénue. "She's Courtney Barnett and we're her bitches," bassist Bones Sloane says playfully. "I want you to introduce me like that all the time," Barnett grins.

But, together with Dave Mundie, they are very much a band, playing to and off one another, and Barnett watches Sloane keenly. Tight and intuitive, they build the simmering tension in Canned Tomatoes (Whole) to breaking point, and providing a powerful riposte to Barnett's tenderly wrought parental worry in Are You Looking After Yourself?

With a debut album still forthcoming, Barnett plays two news songs, suburban satire DePreston and a rousing effort created for Record Store Day that features the refrain: "I say definitely maybe, you say probably no." This debut UK appearance, however, leaves no doubt that the southern hemisphere has another success story.